Atlanta - CNN -- In what has been described as one of the largest cheating scandals to hit the nation’s public education system, 35 Atlanta Public Schools educators and administrators were indicted Friday on charges of racketeering and corruption. The indictment is the bookend to a story that was once touted as a model for the nation’s school districts after the district’s test scores dramatically improved in some of its toughest urban schools.

Among those indicted by a Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury was Beverly Hall, the former schools superintendent who gained national recognition in 2009 for turning around Atlanta’s school system. "She was a full participant in that conspiracy," Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard told reporters during a news conference announcing the charges. "Without her, this conspiracy could not have taken place, particularly in the degree in which it took place." The indictment follows a state investigation that was launched after a series of reports by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper found large, unexplained gains in test scores in some Atlanta schools. A state review determined that some cheating had occurred in more than half of the district’s elementary and middle schools. About 180 teachers were initially implicated in the scandal. 2011: Quit or be fired, educators implicated in Atlanta scandal told Threats and intimidation Hall has denied any role in the cheating scandal. In 2011, she told The New York Times that her subordinates had allowed the cheating to occur, but denied she was involved. Hall resigned from her position in 2011 following the state investigation, which lambasted her leadership and found widespread cheating in dozens of Atlanta schools. The alleged cheating is believed to date back to early 2001, according to the indictment, when standardized testing scores began to turn around in the 50,000-student school district. For at least a period of four years, between 2005 and 2009, test answers were altered, fabricated and falsely certified, the indictment said. Hall allegedly oversaw a system where threats and intimidation were used against teachers, it said. "As a result, cheating became more and more prevalent," the indictment said.

By the time the 2009 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, as the standardized test is known, was administered in Atlanta Public Schools, "cheating was taking place in a majority of

APS’s 83 elementary and middle schools." Report: Test cheating may be widespread The allegations, the indictment said, are substantiated by the Georgia Governor’s Office of Student Achievement analysis of erasures on standardized tests. ’Suspicious’ test score gains According to the indictment, Hall placed unreasonable goals on educators and "protected and rewarded those who achieved targets by cheating. It also alleges she fired principals who failed to achieve goals and "ignored suspicious" test score gains throughout the school system. In 2009, Hall was named the National Superintendent of the Year by the Schools Superintendents Association, which at the time said her "leadership has turned Atlanta into a model of urban school reform." But the indictment paints another picture of Hall, one of a superintendent with "a single-minded purpose, and that is to cheat," Howard told reporters. "For example, teachers who reported other teachers who cheated were terminated, while teachers who were caught cheating were only suspended," the indictment alleges. "The message from Beverly Hall was clear: There were to be no exceptions and no excuses for failure to meet targets." At the heart of the conspiracy to cheat, the indictment said, was money.

"It is further part of the conspiracy and endeavor that targets achieved through cheating were used by Beverly Hall to obtain substantial performance bonuses," the indictment said. It also alleges a number of others received performance bonuses based on test scores. 2011: Seven edcuators step down as scandal unfolds Racketeering and conspiracy Of the 65 counts in the indictment, Hall and 34 others were charged with one count of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as RICO. In addition to racketeering, Hall also is charged with making false statements and writings and theft by taking. If convicted on all counts, she could face a maximum of 45 years in prison. Among those also indicted were four of Hall’s executive administrators, six principals, two assistant principals, six testing coordinators, 14 teachers, a school improvement specialist and a school secretary. These Atlanta Public Schools officials are among those named: -- Millicent Few, director of human resources, is accused of participating in the conspiracy and making false statements during the investigation. -- Tamara Cotman, a regional supervisor who oversaw dozens of Atlanta’s schools, is accused of intimidating witnesses, including a principal and other staff, in an effort to hinder an investigation. -- Sharon Davis-Williams, who also oversaw a region of Atlanta’s schools. -- Michael Pitts, who oversaw a region of Atlanta’s schools, also is accused of intimidating witnesses, primarily staff at Parks Middle School, in an effort to hinder or delay an investigation. -- Christopher Waller, principal at Parks Middle School in Atlanta, where at least four teachers are accused of conspiring to cheat on standardized tests, is also alleged to have pressured teachers to cheat as early as spring 2006. -- Armstead Salters, principal of Gideons Elementary School, where at least four teachers say he allegedly pressured them into cheating. Hall and the 34 others named in the indictment have been ordered to surrender to authorities by Tuesday, said Howard, the district attorney.

Booming music, slinky models and smoke machines are longstanding auto-show staples, especially for American and European carmakers. Subaru’s Viziv of the future If you like the 2013 Subaru BRZ But sensible-shoes Subaru has more commonly played by drier scripts, finishing with an executive inviting journalists to examine the new models firsthand. So we should excuse Subaru for creating some titillation around the surprising revelation of the WRX Concept. 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid. (Subaru of America) Put simply, the concept is red hot. Its sinuous lines suggest a stretched BRZ with four doors and a back seat. If anything, this car looks better than that rear-drive coupe, perhaps the best-looking Subaru ever – though the Viziv Concept, show in Geneva on 5 March, could certainly contest that claim. The car retains its Impreza all-wheel-drive platform, but while the familiar hardware remains, the eventual WRX will be tuned for on-road handling characteristics rather than the gravel-strewn rally world inhabited by WRXs past, according to brand spokesman Dominick Infante. Though no timetable was announced for the car’s introduction, Subaru has typically reserved major global product launches for the Tokyo salon in November, so put your smart money in yen. Subaru also brought its first production hybrid, based on its new XV Crosstrek, which will hit US dealers late this year. The powertrain is comprised of a 13.4-horsepower electric motor powered by a 13.5kW nickel-metal hydride battery pack, working with Subaru’s 2-litre horizontally opposed four-cylinder boxer engine. The whole system adds about 300 pounds of weight, but Subaru promises that the end product will be one of the most efficient crossovers available in the US when the EPA numbers are finalised.

Some of the extra weight comes in the form of additional sound insulation and a more advanced air conditioning system to work when the gasoline engine is not running. The battery pack also cuts slightly into the rear cargo space. The hybrid may have been overshadowed by the smoke, loud music and comely, ahem, product representatives flanking the

WRX Concept, but its presence showed that there would still be room for crunchy granola at Subaru’s future product buffet. Andy Murray overcame the sporadic brilliance of Richard Gasquet to reach the Sony Open final. The Briton won 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 6-2 and will take on world number five David Ferrer in Sunday’s final in Miami. "It was a very tough match," Murray told BBC Sport. "I was just happy to come through in the end." Victory over Ferrer would see Murray move back to number two in the world - at the expense of Roger Federer - for the first time since 2009. It would also bring him a ninth Masters title and a second in Miami, following his success in 2009. "It will be a tough match," Murray said of the final. "He (Ferrer) has had a great week; he’s in great shape. He’s always tough to play against." ’The final will be tougher’ David Law 5 live commentator With Nadal and Federer absent, and Djokovic out early, everyone expected Murray to beat Gasquet, and that brings its own challenges. Murray is doing his job, though, refusing to be beaten by lower-ranked players, no matter what they throw at him. The final will be tougher. He has had 11 previous battles against David Ferrer - virtually all exhausting - with Murray winning six.

If he can make seven, he’ll replace Federer as world number two. Murray, 25, had won three of his last four matches against Gasquet and again proved the stronger as the world number 10 managed to find his potentially devastating attacking game only for brief periods. Gasquet, 26, opened with a flurry of spectacular backhand winners and Murray found himself 3-0 down in a little over 10 minutes, but he weathered the early storm. He has twice beaten the Frenchman from two sets down at Grand Slam tournaments, and remained unruffled, breaking back to love with a forehand pass down the line and levelling at 3-3 with his third ace. Murray was now serving impressively and backing it up with some heavy firepower from the baseline, breaking once again at 4-4, and Gasquet then launched a furious tirade towards the umpire over a time violation. Everything appeared to be going Murray’s way, but he handed the initiative back with a desperately poor game when serving for the set, double-faulting on break point. It ultimately cost him the set after Gasquet controlled the tie-break, two fabulous half-volleys and a sharp forehand volley helping him to 6-3 before Murray sent a backhand wide. The early stages of the second set did not provide much encouragement for Murray, but a brilliant forehand off a Gasquet smash gave him renewed impetus and two more thumping forehands moved him 3-1 ahead. = The Louvre in Paris has topped the list of the most visited art museums of 2012, according to the Art Newspaper.

The publication’s annual survey found 9.7 million people visited the French institute - one million more than

2011. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art was the second most-visited venue, with three London museums taking the third, fourth and fifth spots.The most popular exhibition of the year was a show of Dutch Old Masters at Tokyo’s Metropolitan Art Museum. Masterpieces from the Mauritshuis, which included Vermeer’s 1665 painting Girl with a Pearl Earring, brought 10,500 visitors a day to the Tokyo gallery between June and September 2012. The paintings had been on loan from The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in the Hague, which is closed for refurbishment until mid-2014.